Who says the first cut is the Deepest?
by Takitsune
Summary: A mysterious mission needs a Jagan eye, but in this assignment, Hiei doesn't meet the requirements. What Koenma has in mind to complete this mission calls for a Jagan with a human host. Story revolves around Hiei and the newest addition to their group.
1. Suicide

Seven times that day, Sera's mother had beaten her, and for what? Her father had not come home again that night, just as he had not for several months now. Sera was blamed, although it was no fault of hers. She was just one of many who could not take the commitment, and left. Sera figured it out long ago, but her mother refused to accept that she had been abandoned. Cradling a newly broken arm, Sera sat on her bed, cursing her own existence. Why must she be punished for what was not her fault?

"This life is meaningless to me. Why should I continue on...?" She asked this not to anyone in particular, merely voicing out loud what was on her mind. Walking over to her dresser, she slid open a drawer and pulled out a pocket-knife. She had played with this idea before, and being sixteen, she had plenty of time to do so. True, her father left only a few months ago, but the last seven times were not the first.

Flipping it open, she raised it to her wrist, the blade hovering over other attempts at her life. She always hesitated at this point, but she was never truly sure why. Casting aside her doubt, she pressed down, continuing though she felt the intensity of it biting through her flesh of her already broken arm. The warmth of her own blood flowing down her arm brought an odd sense of calm to her. As she bled, she began to feel better, the loss of it all making her slip past the point of realism. In her hazy stupor, she did not seem to understand that she was dying, a small smile playing across her lips as she reached the point that there was more blood on the floor and soaked in her clothes than there was in her body. Strength failing, she slipped sideways and onto the comforters on her bed. Before the darkness claimed her, the hazy silhouettes of a group of people sidled into her vision, and then all was dark and quiet.


	2. Awake

"Features?"

"Black hair. Blue eyes. 52."

"Age? "

"She's sixteen."

"Whats her name?"

"Sera Stalin."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir. Quite sure."

She could hear voices, but didnt know to whom they belonged.

'Wait..voices..Im not dead..?'

She had failed, again. She thought for sure that it was her mother who brought her the hospital, once again. She cursed her mother.

_'Does she hate me so much that she wouldn't let me leave? Why cant she just let me die?!'_

"Hn...the girls awake."

"She doesn't look it to me.

"Thats because you're an idiot."

"Bite my ankles, shorty!"

This didn't sound like any hospital staff shed ever heard before.

_'Maybe I should just cut off my hand next ti--'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a poke on her forehead.

"Alright you. Time to wake up!"

She continued to lie there, hoping that they would think her head and bury her. Fed up with her, she was jerked into a sitting position by the shorter member. Accustomed to harsh treatment, she merely opened her eyes rather than protest.

"Hiei, don't be so rough!"

You looked over to your defender, blandly looking at her, the one called Hiei letting go of her collar.

"Am I dead?", Sera asked. She really hoped so. The blue-haired girl in pink was becoming too much for her to handle. She was about to have her question answered by said girl in pink when she was stopped by, much to Sera's unexpressed surprise, a small toddler standing on the foot of her bed. He answered instead.

"No, as a matter of fact, you're not. Although, you would have been had we not found you when we did."

She didn't like these people so much anymore, and wished that they had let her die. Hiei, who had been listening in on her thoughts since she regained consciousness, finally spoke up in her mind.

"_Morbid little freak, aren't you. _"

She heard him, but of course, didnt know it was him. Besides. It was true. What she really wanted to know, was WHY she was still alive.


	3. Introductions and Proposal

"Why did you save me, when it was clearly obvious that I wanted to die.", she wanted to know. This time it was the blue-haired girl that answered.

"We, well, actually Hiei picked up a distress signal. It surprised us though, because it came from the human world. It wouldn't have been so surprising except for the fact that the signal came from a being that we don't have under observation, you, and- Wait. You wanted to die? Why?" She seemed truly surprised, a sad, disbelieving wonder reflecting in her eyes.

"My existence is useless. I don't have a reason to live, no reason to want to, and no reason to need to." She said it with an uncaring indifferent tone, as she truly didn't care for her own life.

"And you know, thats what I thought before I died the first time," a black-haired boy in a green school uniform said. She looked over at him, only giving a passing thought as to what he meant when he said, the first time. "And my mothers a drunk who goes off to random parties at all times of whenever she wants." Sera smirked and looked down, the first show of emotion since she came to.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? To hear what you think is a problem, and still know that mine is worse? Nice try."

"What do you mean? Whats worse than Urameshi's mother?"

"Hey, watch it Kuwabara!" Kuwabara. To her, his name sounded as stupid as he looked. It was then that another boy, slightly taller than Yusuke, stepped forward.

"Excuse me. I don't mean to pry, but it seems that your left arm is broken. May I ask how it happened?" Looking down at it, she had almost forgotten. Her arm was sitting at an angle slightly unnatural to what it was normally capable. When she answered, she spoke in a dull tone edged with malice.

"MY mother...And no, Urameshi, she was not drunk." Everybody, except Hiei, widened their eyes in shock. The girl seemed close to tears, though Sera didn't know why. It wasn't her problem to cry over.

"What kind of mother would intentionally inflict their child with pain? Why?" Sera didn't get why she wanted to know, but told her nevertheless.

"My father abandoned us several months ago. She blames me." At this point, Hiei was the only one who could possibly relate to Sera on the same level. Clearing his throat in the silence that followed Seras response, the toddler spoke up again.

"Well, despite your problems, you're here with us now." She looked around.

"Who is 'us'"? The toddler, who Sera now assumed through some weird twist to be the leader of the group, introduced the assortment of people around the two of them.

"I am Koenma, ruler of the Makai Spirit World. The girl is Botan, resident Grim Reaper."

_'Heh...Too bad were not meeting under different circumstances..', _she thought to herself, Koenma continuing.

"The taller red-head is Kazuma Kuwabara, the other is Kurama or Shuichi Minamio. The one in green is Yusuke Urameshi, and the one who sat you up earlier is Hiei Jaganshi."

Sera looked at each in turn, acknowledging them only by doing so.

"You still never answered my question. Why was I kept alive?" Koenma looked around the room, sending out all but himself, Kurama, and Hiei.

"Sera, I know you didn't have any knowledge of sending a distress signal. We, like you, didn't have any knowledge of it, but you have telekinetic capabilities. However, that is not the sole reason you are here. I need to press a question upon you, but whatever you choose in your answer, you need to be absolutely sure that what you choose is what you want." Taking a deep breath, he starts in on his question, Hiei and Kurama listening on gravely. "We are in need of a human that possesses a jagan eye, and naturally, by birth, that is not possible. I want you to agree to undergo surgery to have one implanted." Sera's face was again devoid of any emotion, so Koenma could not tell what she was thinking, unlike Hiei.

_'Whats a jagan eye_?', she wondered. Hiei stepped up, unwrapping the white cloth that served as a headband, revealing a closed eye on his forehead, which opened once the headband was completely removed. Kurama was surprised at this gesture, but hid it; this wasn't the time.

"This is a jagan eye." He said only what was needed, and once she saw, he retied his headband.

"So...", Koenma continued, "will you do it?" Sera had to think about it only for a moment before she agreed.

_'Why not? Maybe, if Im lucky, something will go wrong, and itll kill me.' _As soon as her mind completed the thought, the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room.

Koenma and Kurama, too shocked at Hieis action to say anything, watched for Seras reaction. Sera, all too used to being hit, just looked at him, Koenma finding his voice in the meantime.

"Hiei! What do you mean by slapping her that way!?"

"The onna still wants to die, and I've had enough of her morbid thoughts. Thats all shes thought about since shes been awake."

"Thats still not a reason to hit her!", the toddler fumed. At this point, to avoid further conflict, Kurama stepped in, clearing his throat.

"I suggest that we press forward with this process. We still have to have her set up for surgery." Koenma sighed in defeat, backing down.

"Yes, youre right, of course. Lets go." Sera, with Kuramas help, got down off the cot she had been lain on. As the four of them walked, Kurama explained a little bit about what was going to happen once she was admitted. Once she was let in, Koenma, Kurama, and Hiei left her to the surgeons, each hoping the implant would be successful, each for their own reasons.


	4. Acceptance and Explanation

A few minutes after Sera had been dropped off for the surgery, Hiei and Kurama were told by Koenma to fill in the rest of the team. Yukina and Keiko were in there as well, so Hiei kept silent while Kurama cleared his throat, a signal, that everyone obeyed, for them to quiet down.

"We just got back from the discussion with Sera, and Koenma has ordered me to fill you in on any questions you might need entertained." Everybody started talking and asking questions at once, making it hard for Kurama to understand much of anything that was being said.

"Alright, calm down everyone!", he shouted above them. "I cant understand you when you're all talking at once, so please, one question at a time. Yusuke."

"Er...Why did we have to leave while you two were allowed to stay?" The real reason was that Hiei and Kurama would be needed later during the oporation, and Koenma didnt want anyone trying to butt in, but Kurama wasn't going to say that. He didn't like lying, so he edged around it.

"He felt that it would be easier for us to know first, so then we could tell you later, without as much confusion." Yusuke seemed satisfied by the answer, but had another.

"Well, what was it about?" This one, Kurama was obliged to tell.

"Koenma asked Sera to agree to have surgery for an implantation of a jagan eye." Immediately, there was more disorder, until Kuwabara wondered outloud,

"Well, why would he want to do that for?! He's already got Hiei and HIS jagan eye!"

"All that we were told," said Kurama in the calm after his question, "was that he needs a human with a jagan. We werent told anything more. Hiei couldn't even find the answer in Koenma's mind, before you ask, Yusuke." Now, there was a strong silence over them all, each mind questioning the reason for Koenma's need. Botan broke the silence.

"Did she accept?"

"She did. She's in the infirmary for surgery as we speak. If all goes well, as planned, they'll be needing us at any moment."

"Waaait a minute.", said Yusuke suspiciously. "Everybody that I've ever seen come in here have had some kind of denial or something when they're told where they're at. She just...up and agreed? Just like that?" He was right. All the other recruits, whether they be demon or human, as long as they had come from Ningenkai, the human world, they had always had questions.

"No," Kurama said with a sigh, "she didn't have any questions, doubts, denials, anything. She just agreed to have it done." Botan was about to ask another question when she was interrupted by the PA coming on.

"Hiei, you're needed in the operating room. Bring Kurama with you, too, if you would." Hiei indifferent, Kurama relieved to be finished playing 20 questions, the two of them walked to the oporating room. Once inside, they were greeted with the pungent odor of hospital cleaner and the metallic smell of blood. Koenma himself was already inside, in teenage form, watching scrutinitly at everything the doctors did.

"You needed us, Koenma?", Kurama spoke.

"Ah, yes, yes. Everything's in place and the doctors are ready to start, whenever the two of you are ready. Doctors?" Kurama, Hiei, and Koenma turned to the head surgeon. He didnt look at them, concentrating on Sera.

"Alright, Kurama, I need you to go ahead and start preparing your medicinal formula. Hiei, over here, if you please, we're ready to have you start blocking." Kurama walked to go get what he needed and Hiei grunted a reply before walking over and starting his task. He knew what to do only through a briefing about twenty minutes before Sera woke up. This was purely experimental, but none of them wanted to fail. Before he started he repeated to himself what Koenma said that he must do.

_' "Get inside her mind. Press back and stop the flow of memories and create barriers around them to keep them stopped. Draw out her spirit energy and then secure it the same way as her memories, then get out. Do not stay in for too long, stay in only for as long as you need."' _

_'Hn...'_ Uncovering the headband covering his jagan eye for the second time that day, he dove into Sera's subconscious, his own focused on what he needed to do.


	5. Memories

After delving into Sera's subconscious, it was fairly easy for him to find his way through her mind and to her memory chamber. He hesitated before entering, knowing that one wrong move anywhere in Sera's mind could do permanent damage. Opening the door to her memories, he went inside, but once inside he dropped heavily to the floor. The weight of the pain Sera bottled up and kept harbored inside herself had caught him off guard, overwhelming him with undeterred feelings of torment, self-loathing, shame, and of being unloved. All of it crashing down on him at once, he was unable to stop the oncoming invasion of Sera's memories.

With no previous intention of doing so, he was drawn in to a memory and watched as a 6-year-old Sera and her mother got back from a parent-teacher conference discussing advanced placement. Furious for having to go out of her way to meet with the teacher, Sera's mother backhanded her, sending the small girl to the floor, and then proceded to kick her maliciously. When Sera finally blacked out from the abuse, the memory faded, bringing up a new one.

A slightly older Sera, about 10 now, brought a friend home with her from school. Her mother, drunk from a full day of drinking, started yelling at her, scaring her friend away. Afraid of another beating, Sera attempted to flee to her room, only to be stopped short by her mother grabbing her wrist, twisting it viciously, causing her first broken wrist. Uncaring, the girl's mother pulled her to the ground by her hair, beating her into another unmerciful unconsciousness.

Before he had a chance to erect a proper barrier, another memory forced its way through:

Sera, home sick from school, was sitting quietly in her room, reading from her 6th-grade workbook when her mother burst into her room, drunk again. Leaping off her bed as her mother lunged towards her, she tried to duck past her, only succeeding in giving her mother a taken opportunity to grab a fist-full of hair. Wrapping it around her fist, her mother used Sera's hair as a leash, dragging her poor daughter down the hall and into a spare bedroom. Throwing her against the wall, her mother retrieved a pocketknife, one that Sera would use on herself later, from a desktop. Before she could do anything to prevent it, her mother sliced her stomach through her shirt, leaving a torn hole in it. Falling to a fetal position, Sera curled up against the harsh beatings of her mother. But this time, when her mother went to cut her again, Sera intercepted the knife and pulled it from her grasp, putting a gash in her mother's hand in the process. Her mother stunned, Sera took the opportunity to flee, wrenching open the window in her room and jumping out. In the rush of escaping, she'd forgotten that her room was on the fourth story of an apartment complex. Landing harshly on both feet, she immediately crumpled to the ground like an over-abused ragdoll. Right ankle, two sections on both legs fractured, and both kneecaps jammed, she was unable to move, and was in excruciating pain. Refusing to go and retrieve her daughter, Sera's mother allowed her to stay outside and on the ground for the rest of the night. It was when her father came home, ignored her cries for help and went on inside, did she make her first attempt on her life, using the pocketknife her mother used on her earlier, to slit her own wrists.

In the break, Hiei rushed to complete a barrier around his mind, unwilling to be forced into another morbid memory. The barrier erected, the wave of emotions dulled, allowing him off the floor. He struggled to regain his composure, shaking ever so slightly from the onslaught of raw emotion. Never in his life had there been a force so great that would keep him pinned to the ground in such a way. And never again did he plan to let it happen.

"What's taking Hiei so long?", he heard Koenma say from outside. He'd been inside Sera's subconscious for nearly a half hour now, and had still not goten anything accomplished. Hiei braced his energy, preparing to stabilize and block in Sera's memories. Getting that done, he started on the harder task: Drawing out the girl's spirit energy. He would have to leave her memory chamber and search for it elsewhere. Exiting the room, he placed a barrier around the door, for extra precaution. Using his jagan, he pinpointed Sera's spirit energy, a dull existance a few corridors down. As he made his way to where the energy was being held, the appearance of chambers became scarce until, with still a corridor left to run through, the only chamber from his current location and the energy chamber, was the energy chamber itself.

'Why would there be so much space allowed for such a weak existence of energy?', he wondered. Finally, he arrived at the holding chamber for Sera's spirit energy. Remembering the last chamber he was in, he braced himself and walked in. Just as his jagan told him, the existence of her spirit energy was very weak. Colored a misty silver, her energy pulsed steadily with every heartbeat. Walking up to it, he put his palms up to the energy, using his jagan, coupled with his own abilities to attempt to draw anything he could out of her energy. At first, all seemed to be going well, but near the end of the procedure, when he thought that he had reached the bottom of what her energy pool was able to produce and attempted to secure the energy, it pushed against him, no longer needing assistance to surface. Her energy surged and began growing at an increasingly alarming rate.

'What the hell?! So much energy in one human mortal?!'

Filling the room, Hiei was forced out of the chamber, the energy flowing out and into the corridors. His mind processing what was inevitably going to happen, he started for the surface at his maximum speed.

'I've got to get out and warn the others. They'll be killed!'


	6. Unstability and Retreat

Outside of Sera's subconscious, Hiei's physical body was starting to sweat. Noticing, Kurama brought it to everybody's attention.

"Hiei's physical body is sweating...Do you think that something wrong has happened inside?" Koenma thought back to the doctors' decision.

"...Perhaps...Have everybody who's not needed leave, just in case something's gone wrong." Nodding, Kurama saw to it that any person who was nod immediately needed in what was going on at the moment, left the room with no exceptions. He was about to leave himself, when Konema called him back in.

"No, Kurama, you stay, please. We may need you to apply your mix shortly. See that it's ready, if you would." Kurama tending to his medicine mix, Koenma cast a wary stare on Hiei and Sera.

Inside, Hiei was fighting to stay ahead of the tsunami of Sera's spirit energy, running as fast as he was able towards the exit. Finally finding it, he threw himself out of the girl's subconscious and back into his own. Physical and mental bodies now one, Hiei warned any who were able to hear.

"She's unstable! Get away!" Grabbing a startled Koenma, Hiei tore from the room with Kurama and the doctors on following behind. Screaming, seemingly to the building, Koenma called for a portal, and when the swirling, blue mass of space appeared in front of them appeared, nobody hesitated in going in. If any of them had cast a backwards glance before going in, they would have seen what Hiei had in Sera's subconscious, a giant tsunami of silver spirit energy, for that was how close it was. The time it takes to glance back would have been all the time needed for the wave to catch and disentigrate anybody foolish enough to take the chance.


	7. Mistakes and Realization

Hiei, carrying a shaken Koenma, and Kurama were the first out of the portal, only one of the four doctors following shortly thereafter. They assumed that they had been killed in the retreat from the hospital room. Dropping Koenma to the ground, Hiei reached out, taking the remaining doctor by the front of his shirt.

"What the hell happened?!" The doctor, shaken by what had just happened didn't say anything, only able to manage hoarse croaks. Disgusted, Hiei threw him to the ground. Seconds after, there was a heart-stopping explosion, grabbing the attention of everyone. They turned and looked in the direction the eruption came from. Koenma's castle was clearly visible from where they were standing, but what was also visible, if not even more so, was the intense spire of the same silver spirit energy. As they stood there, the entire hospital wing was disintegrated, along with the surrounding parst of the building, trees, grass, foliage, and other living creature within a 50 foot range. By the time the energy had subsided, nothing was left of the hospital or surrounding forest; only bare earth remained

The doctor was now on his feet, so Hiei tried again. Approaching him, Hiei crossed his arms, resisting the urge to strangle the doctor.

"What...**happened**?" As the doctor explained it, Hiei could only close his eyes against the infuriating incompetence of the doctor and his late colleagues. Kurama, too, was amazed that what had happened was allowed to take place.

"Koenma", he started, "why did you ever give authorization to proceed with the oporation, knowing that Hiei was still inside and working?" Koenma, rightfully ashamed, didn't look at either of them, but at the destruction caused by his latest recruit.

"The head surgeon, one of the three that didn't make it out, said that it was crucial that we not waste time and urged me to allow them to proceed without waiting for Hiei. I didn't think it wrong, at first. He said that it was gravely important to the process that I allow him to proceed...so I did..." Hiei was still furious.

"Do you realize that your decision nearly killed us all, including you?! You knew as well as I that if I wasn't out that it would be dangerous to continue!" Kurama put a firm, but friendly hand on Hiei's shoulder, stopping him, although reluctantly.

"I doubt we'll ever get a chance like we had with Sera again. Damnit. I guess we'd better head back and see what the extent of the damage is." Everybody nodded, agreeing with Koenma. Heading back, Hiei stopped suddenly. He was shocked; Sera's life-force was still present in his mind. She was still alive!


	8. Success and Transformation

Taking off at a run, Hiei blew past Kurama and Koenma, rushing to the site of the explosion.

_'If she's alive, then she's just barely so!', _he told himself.

"Hiei?! What're you doing?!", Koenma shouted, but he didnt answer. Koenma and Kurama looked at each other, the same silent question posing in their minds, before they ran after him. Upon reaching Sera, he stopped short. He knew it was her, it had to be; but it didn't look like her. She was lying on her side, face-down in the dirt, silvery-white hair now taking the place of her once raven-black. Kneeling beside her, he gently picked her up. He turned her towards him, shocked at what he saw once he did. Her bangs had taken on a new lift, like they had been spiked with gel, though much, much softer. But what truly caught his attention was the black star-burst that created a shadowed halo around her bangs. Her hair mirrored his own, inverted in color, though much much longer, with a majestic, yet feminine sheen. He stood up with her, turning towards Koenma and Kurama just as they approached. They, too, were shocked to see the transformation Sera's hair had undergone.

"How...is this possible..?" Koenma was lost for an answer as he asked. Kurama stated the most probable answer.

"More than likely...It was probably because Hiei was in her subconscious, near her energy, and near her memories. I cant think of any other probable reason. Hiei, you've..." Hiei wasn't paying attention to the two of them, he was scanning Sera for any injuries that might prove fatal for her, but didnt find any, save for the already healing, nearly seamless stitching of the skin around her newly implanted jagan. Brushing her bangs aside, he examined it more closely. Closed it looked like his own. Barely detectable. It didn't look bad,

_'But,'_ he thought, _'it needs to be covered to prevent infection_...' It had become a habit for him to wear his own, for the same reason, after he was given his own. It was a sense of security, he always suspected, knowing that it was covered and hidden from view, though he would never admit it.

"We should get back to the main part of the castle...she's still in danger." Koenma and Kurama watched Hiei walk off without them, both of them foreseeing the bond that would soon form between the two jagan possessors, though that as well both of them knew, neither would ever admit to.


	9. Awake Again

A few days later, Sera had yet to wake up, which was starting to worry everyone. Though, she didnt know it, she had been visited by everyone on the Urameshi team, Hiei being the most frequent. They had all hoped that she'd be awake by the time the hospital got rebuilt and restaffed, but that time came and went, so they had to wait on.

Those who visited at the same time as Hiei never saw it, but when it was just Hiei and Sera, he talked to her unconscious form. She was the person he went to when he needed to talk and be listened to. Within a few days, he felt as if he'd known her forever. It was an odd feeling, to talk unconditionally to someone without worry of their judgement. Finally, a week and a half after the decimation of the infirmary, Sera opened her eyes. Hiei was the only one in the room with her at the time, which was probably better than if there was a group visit in progress. Hiei didnt notice at first, being in the middle of another single-sided conversation with her.

"--and that detective. I swear if it weren't for the fact that Koenma would throw me back in the cells...", he fumed.

"Back in the cells...?", she asked hoarsely, having not spoken in over a week. "So you've been in there before?" Her responding startled him and he nearly broke his neck with the speed at which he turned to look at her.

"When did you wake up?"

"Just now, a few seconds ago..", she said. Wanting to sit up, she tried, only to be pushed back down to her bed by Hiei.

"Dont get up. Dont move. I'll be right back."Before she could protest, he was gone. Ignoring his words, she sat up. Looking around the room she was in, Sera stood, walking away from her bed. She didnt get too far, however, as there was an I-V cord connected to one wrist. Taking it out, she allowed herself to wander to the windowsill. Sitting on the sill, Sera saw that she was at least a story, maybe two, from the ground floor. She tried to recall where she was, or even the reason she was where she was, then suddenly remembered.

_'The Jagan transplant..', _she thought, absently reached up to touch her forehead. Surprised, she felt soft cloth instead of skin. _'Usually_,' she reasoned, _'things are wrapped for a reason_.' So she left the cloth tied. She was about to lose herself in thought until a male's voice brought her back to reality.

"I thought I told you not to move." Turning her head towards the speaker, she recognized him as the one they called Hiei. Face emotionless, he walked into the room, followed by Koenma, the rest of Team Urameshi, and the the girls as well, insistent on seeing her.

"Oh goodness! She IS the spitting image of Hiei isnt she?", Botan breathed. She had seen Sera before the operation, but hadnt had to oportunity afterwards.

"Yea," Urameshi agreed, "'Cept where Hie's black, she's white."

"And she's also the same height.", Kuwabara added. "Hey, we've got another shrimp!", he said, earning him a glare from Hiei and an indifferent stare from Sera.

"If you're all done talking about me as if I werent here, I'd like to be told why theres a large gathering of people around me." Sera was getting annoyed with the people around her talking about her like she was invisible. She had it enough back home. Koenma, in teenager form stepped forward.

"If you remember, which I hope you do, you underwent a surgery to have a Jagan Eye implanted, which, by the way, was a success in its own. The reason that theres such a large group with you today, is that you've been out like a light for a little more than half the year, and your visiters wanted to see you." This news startled Sera, surprise being the first animated emotion she showed on her face since her arrival. Not the fact that she had surgery for an implant, but the fact that she had visitors. And she wasnt even awake.

"...I had...visitors..?"

"Yes!", Koenma said, slightly amused at her reaction, "And by the look on your face, I can tell that what the nurses in the human world told us was true." Now she was really confused.

"Nurses in the human world...told you what?" Everybody in the room had taken a seat somewhere, in a chair or on the bed, save Hiei, who stood. (She stole his window.)

"Well...", he started, "We needed more information on your past, since we didnt have much on you in the first place, so we, that is to say, the Urameshi team," he indicated by extending his arm towards the boys, "went to the local human hospital to get your medical records and to talk to the nurses. Generally getting any and all information they could on you." Kurama, sitting in one of the chairs, legs crossed in the male fashion, started now.

"What we found out from your medical records alone was astonishing. You had been in the hospital over twenty times for attempted suicide."

"But with a mother like yours," Yusuke interrupted, "I dont exactly blame you." There was silence

around the room. Evidently, Sera wasnt supposed to find out that they had talked to her mother.

"You talked to my mother?!" There was a tremor in her voice, fear shaking it more than anger for their trespassing.

"Well...yes." Koenma said. "We needed permission from her to look into your medical records. It was inevitable." She stood up, nearly giving herself a headrush.

"I...I've got to go home. Now. Shit...she's gonna kill me for sure..."

_'What a change.', _Hiei thought absently. _'Before her surgery, she would have gladly done anything it took to have a chance to die. Now she seems...afraid of the thought_. _No...More rather afraid to die by her mother's hand._' He didnt like that she had to be afraid of her own mother, but kept his face void of that.

"She's not going to kill you.", he said sternly before anybody else had a chance.

"Hiei's right.", Botan said.

"Indeed.", Kurama agreed. "We'll escort you over to make sure your mother doesnt attempt to cause any harm to come to you." Sera's head was beginning to hurt as she ran her fingers through her hair to clutch her head.

"Escort me? I'm going back home, you cant come with me. Theres no room in the house for guests to stay." Koenma stood.

"Ah, well, you see... You're only returning home for a visit. To tell your mother what has happened while you were away, and to gather your things. I'd like you to stay here, in the mansion with the rest of us. That is, if you agree. I'm not permitted to force you into anything, by my own law." An emotion that Sera had not felt since long before her father left resurfaced. Joy. She was going to her mothers for the last time, never to return if the thought pleased her. She looked at everybody in the room. They were all waiting, the girls visibly hopeful. How they would love having another girl around the place amongst all the boys. For the second time she'd been there, the first since she woke up, Sera didn't scowl or glare, rather, she almost smiled.

"Alright. I...I'll stay."


	10. Mother Dearest

Botan had set up a portal to the Ningenkai, the human world, and Sera, unconscious the first time she went through one, was a little reluctant to go through, although she did in the end. Upon arriving on her street, Sera started to get nervous, as she usually did when she was dreading something happening, and this was a big something. The nearer she and the gang got to her house, the more nervous she got, eventually starting up the smallest of a tremble. Under normal circumstances, she would face her mother with stoicism and indifference about the inevitable abuse, but this was different; people, who apparently cared about her, were being dragged into this, and who knew what would happen. Anybody who walked past couldnt help but stare. Sera couldnt hardly blame them though, considering her company.

_'Not_,' she said to herself, '_that theres anything wrong with the guys, its just..._.' It was just that it wasnt something anybody on her street would have expected to see a young girl in a cream-colored tunic top and matching pants, black cloth tied about her forehead, with white hair, accented by the cream top, and a black starburst, walking next to a boy who inverted her appearance completely. Not to mention the rest of her company. It was just something one wouldnt see in her neighborhood. By the time they reached her house, Sera was visibly shaking, amazed at how different it felt to be scared for someone. Kurama silently put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her, and, with a nod from Hiei, she walked up and knocked on her own door.

"I'm not buying anything you're selling!", they heard a woman shout from inside. She knocked again, harder this time, to get her mother to come to the door. A colorful stream of curses was audible, then the door opened, revealing a taller black-haired woman holding a cigarette loosely between her lips.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want?" Swallowing visibly, Sera spoke up.

"I-its me, mom...Sera..." Her mother glared at her before speaking.

"The hell you are. Sera's dead, and you dont even look like her."

"No mom, its really me, and I'm not dead. My hair...there was an accident and it...got bleached." Her mother gave her a scathing once-over and sneered, as if something very foul had dared invade her senses.

"Its you alright, good for nothing, I can hear it in your voice. Why the hell arent you dead? I thought for sure you'd go upstairs and try to kill yourself again after that beating I gave you the other night." Sera's mother talked down to her so badly, and spoke so disappointedly about her only daughter not being dead that it shocked the entire gang, Hiei included.

"And who the hell'd you bring to my house? They're not staying." She turned then added as an afterthought, "Unless they plan on paying." Hiei'd heard enough.

"We dont intend to stay, onna. We came to tell you what's happened to your daughter in the past week, get her stuff, then leave. Move aside." Sera shut her eyes tight, bracing herself for the explosion that she was sure her mother was going to erupt with, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see that her mother had, surprisingly, stepped aside to allow them to enter, glaring nothing but pure hate at Hiei, the only one who had the nerve to stand up to her since Sera's father left. Though tainted with hate and grudge, the woman had a small amount of respect for Hiei's nerve. Sera followed them in, avoiding her mothers glare as she felt it stab into her, pretending not to notice, relieved when her mothers eyes left her for the next person behind her.

Once inside, Sera took the lead to take them to the living-room, the only place in the house that had enough room for everybody to sit comfortably without being on top of one another. Everybody seated, a grudging silence settled. The gang didnt know Sera's mother, but hated her already, Kurama included among them.

"So.", Sera's mother spat at her. "You gonna tell me where the hell you've been or am I gonna have to try and read your mind?" The gang bristled at her words, but stayed silent, for risk of starting a fight. Hiei knew more about what happened, so he spoke for Sera.

"Sera was unconscious for 99 of the time, so I'll have the unpleasant priviledge instead." Taking a drag on her cigarette, Sera's mother merely sat back, staring unpleasantly at her daughter, who was pretending to be immensely interested in her hands. Hiei continued.

"About six months ago, we found Sera, near death, and took her to the Makai, the spirit world." He knew the potential danger of telling a ningen, human, about the spirit world, but he knew that she wouldnt care enough to pursue the topic.

"We were barely able to save her life, but when she came to, we posed a question to her. We wanted her to undergo a surgery to have a Jagan Eye implanted, and she agreed." At this point, Sera's mother sat up.

"And you want me to pay for her medical bills. Hell no." Forcing himself to remain calm, Hiei continued.

"We dont want your money. The procedure was free of charge, since it was us who wanted the process to happen in the first place. The operation itself was a success." Sera's mother interrupted again.

"If you dont want money, then why the hell're you telling me all of this? I sure hope its not because you think I care about the ungrateful wench, because if you do, you sure have a helluva wakeup call coming." With that, she stood up.

"Take her stuff and then get the hell out of my house. If I ever see her face again, it'll only be too soon." And then she left for her room, locking it behind her. By this time, Sera was clenching the fabric in her lap, trying to calm herself, staring intently at her hands, forcing back the tears of rage that were threatening to spill for the first time since the night her father left. Standing, she inhaled sharply, then leveled her head.

"My room's upstairs. You dont have to come up with me, I wont need any help. I dont have much." Walking up to her room, she started to gather what she wanted to take with her. But, with a quick glance around her room, she decided that she wanted nothing, except for her undergarments and the knife that she used on herself before she was taken in by the gang. These she put in a small, worn, leather messenger bag. It was just big enough. She didnt have much else to begin with. Back downstairs the guys openly expressed their rage.

"Come on, Kurama! We could make it look like an accident! Just...break her neck and toss her down the stairs. You know she deserves it.", Yusuke reasoned.

"As much as I would like seeing that woman dead, we arent permitted to kill unless given permission, or if its absolutely necessary to save our lives." Grumbling mutinously, Yusuke shut himself up, knowing that they would have to leave the woman alone. When Sera came back downstairs, the guys looked for a box that she would have her stuff in, but saw none.

"Where's all your stuff?", Kuwabara asked.

"Yea. Dont you have like a box full of shoes? Every girl I know has at least fifty," mused Yusuke.

"I dont. I've just got what clothes I wanted, and something else." They didnt question what that 'something else was'.

"Heh. Dont tell Botan or Keiko that.", Yusuke warned. "They'd take you shopping for an entire wardrobe before you could blink."

"Have you got everything you want to take with you?", Kurama asked politely. They really didnt want to stay any longer than they had to, especially with Sera's mother still around. Sera nodded, so they headed out and back to where a portal back to the Spirit World was waiting for them.

Once back in the Spirit World, the boys were called to Koenma's office, Sera being told to sit in the hall and wait. While waiting, a blue ogre came up to her with a covered platter. He revealed the plate to carry, of all things, a blueberry muffin. He offered it to her, saying that it was complimentary of first time guests. She didnt like muffins, but didnt want to offend the poor guy, so she used the excuse of saying that she had eaten before she arrived. He looked slightly crestfallen until she asked George, she found out his name was, if he wanted to eat it instead. He brightened immediately and agreed, skipping off. It put her in a slightly better mood to see how happy she had made him. Whatever was going on inside was taking forever in Sera's opinion.

'_Finally'_, she thought as they came out. 'I thought they were gonna be in there forever.'

'_I know. None of Koenma's speeches are usually very productive_.' Her eyes widened a little. That was Hiei's voice in her head.

'_Yes. And you can do the same, now, without me reading your thoughts_.'

'_I can? How_?'

'_Later._' As Kurama walked out, last to do so, he turned to Sera.

"Sera, Koenma would like a word with you as well. Its nothing bad, dont worry." With that, she went inside, Hiei following. Taking a seat in front of Koenma's desk, she waited. 


	11. Yours, Mine, and Ours

"Sera, Koenma would like a word with you as well. Its nothing bad, dont worry." With that, she went inside, Hiei following. Taking a seat in front of Koenma's desk, she waited.

While she was waiting, she allowed her mind to wonder over events that had taken place in the past few days. What with the operation, the success of it, and her mother, it was no surprise to Hiei, as he listened in, that her emotions and thoughts were so abstract.

Remembering how Sera's mother had treated her, Hiei delved deeper, searching for the memories that he'd been forced to watch while he had been trapped in her subconscience in the pre-operation stage. He was a bit surprised that he had such easy access to her mind,

_'But then again...'_ he thought, '_I have been in here before...' _He began sifting through her memories, going back in time via her subconscience. He was about to start watching one particularly interesting one, until he saw an area swathed entirely in shadow.

Pushing towards it, he felt another push. Sera was forcing him back out, whether she knew she was doing it or not.

Hiei once again back in his own mind, he shot a distasteful look at Sera. She never saw, for she wasnt even looking at him, she was watching Koenma come into the room at long last.

_'So she didnt know I was there...or that she pushed me out_.' To have pushed him out the way it did, there would have had to have been immensely strong emotional distress concerning that particular area of memories.

_'I wonder what could have been worse than her mothers beatings for her to block them so fiercely..?_' As Koenma got to his desk, Hiei concluded that he would go back and delve further so as to get a glimpse of what Sera was hiding.

"Sorry I was so long in getting here, I had to debrief another team; they've only just gotten back from the HJ mission." At this Hiei smirked. Team Urameshi had been assigned the same mission, and not only had they gotten back much faster, they had been successful. After all, the result of their mission was sitting in a chair right beside him.

"Now to business." Looking as serious as toddler could possibly hope to be, Koenma looked at both Sera and Hiei.

"Since the Jagan operation was indeed a success, the matter of pulling out what new abilities the Jagan has given you, Sera, has arisen and cannot be ignored. Now then.." Looking squarely at Hiei, he continued.

"Hiei, since you yourself have a Jagan, her training will be your responsibility, as well as acting as her bodyguard. She's the first human ever, in the history of both worlds, to have one, so I wont even **assume **you **dont** know how dangerous that could be for her if she's left alone."

Hiei did understand. The number of demons in the Makai was staggering alone, but in the Ningenkai, there were also an amount of registered and even unregistered demons and such living. Any one of them, if they so desired, would look for any opportunity to use her in any way they saw fit. And again Koenma's attention shifted, this time to Sera.

"And you, Sera. I dont want you anywhere alone, inside or outside this building. There is to be someone with you at all times. Are we clear?" She nodded, slowly, hoping that Koenma didnt mean for one of the boys to be with her absolutely **everywhere** she went.

"Alright. Now that that's in order, I need to get back to work." He motioned to a huge stack of papers, all of them waiting for poor Koenma to stamp. As she and Hiei left the office, Sera allowed her thoughts to wonder.

'_Training with this Jagan probably means a lot of emotional control and strength...I'll have to start closing myself off emotionally to everyone, now._.' She almost liked the idea. It made things easier. Not paying attention to where she was walking she almost bumped into Hiei after he had stopped; she had been following him.

"This is my room...touch nothing inside if you value your life." He didnt like the thought of her in his room, but he had Koenma's orders. Sera, however didnt quite get it.

"Brilliant. You can find your way home. Now where's my room?" Her attitude annoyed him. No-one without a death-wish, save for Yusuke and Kuwabara, retorted to him in such a manor. He decided to be patient, for the time being.

"Koenma's orders say that you arent to be alone for any reason, wherever you are. My room is..your room, as of now.." Sera heard the distinct disapproval, disdain, and ultimate distaste in his voice, but couldnt exactly blame him.

"Hn..." Stealing the grunt she had heard him use time and again caused Hiei to walk in and shut the door, without allowing Sera entrance. Getting angry, she stopped herself from banging her fist on the door.

_'Emotional restraint...dont be so easy to react_,' she told herself. Leaning against the wall, she slid down until she sat on the floor, one knee drawn up to her chest. She knew when he didnt let her in a half an hour later, he intended to teach her a lesson, so she allowed herself to fall asleep sitting as she was, against the wall. Koenma's orders were forgotten.


	12. Sign: Keep Out

As it turns out, Hiei'd forgotten Sera and had fallen asleep himself. When he awoke several hours later, he cursed himself and went outside to find and retrieve Sera. He'd barely gotten out the door when he felt himself falling; he'd tripped on Sera's outstretched leg. Catching himself in a sort of push-up possition, he was careful not to make anymore noise than he had to; she had already begun to stir from the contact her leg and Hiei had made. Squatting down beside her, he noted all her traits.

Her outward appearance was almost a perfect mirror mimic of his own. Her hair was much, much longer, but that was about how long her hair was before the operation. Her figure, not to mention gender, was the only true difference between them. Almost in the height of her teenage years, her figure wasnt the most spectacular, but the curves were most definitely there, in all the places they should be. Her bust was even a--

'_No! Dont __**even**__ go there_.' Mentally shaking the primal thoughts from himself he remembered what he told himself that he would do next chance he recieved.

Normally, Hiei wouldnt bother with anyone but himself, but the fact that she could push him away, not just from that memory, but out of her subconscience altogether aggravated his pride.

'_There's got to be something to that shadowed area blocked off in her memories..' _Sitting down, he made sure that she wouldnt wake, then, he closed his eyes, diving once again into her subconscience. This time, he didnt waste any time with the other memories, but headed straight back to where he knew the shadows would be.

When he approached, he felt the push from before, but this time, he didnt let it force him out; he pushed back, which earned him a little headway, at least to the first blocked memory. Reaching out, he touched it, allowing himself to be drawn into the memory.

At first, he thought he was reliving one of his own, for what he saw was what happened to him many years ago. As the memory progressed, however, he realized that Sera had blocked out the memory of the operation that she undertook so that she may possess a Jagan eye.

Looking around he saw what he hadnt seen in the operation room before: While he was drawing out her energy, she was placed in a chemical filled tube, almost identical to the one he resided in during his own implantation. In the rush to get out of the room with Koenma and Kurama alive, he'd overlooked it. He did not blame her for blocking out such a memory, especially if she was awake to have the memory.

Pulling himself from the memory, he started working past the push to get to the next level of blocked memories. What Hiei did not know though, was that he would have to do much more pushing to get to the other memories; they were indeed locked away for a very good reason.


	13. Shadows in my Mind

The force pushing him back wasnt by any means weak, and he began to wonder whether or not he'd be able to see them in time before somebody came along and ruined the oportunity.

_'Hn..If she thinks she can keep me from them, shes sorely mistaken..' _Using the power of his own Jagan eye within Sera's mind, he was able to push harder into the darkness than the darkness was able to push back. Finally, he succeeded. Looking around, he saw that there werent too many memories back here, but, _'Whatever their contents hold, it cant be worse than what I've already seen,' _he'd decided. He would soon find out just how wrong he was, as he reached out to the first locked memory.

Once inside the memory, he looked around. Sera had to be somewhere close by, for they were her memories after all. And then he spotted her. She was sitting in the corner of the room, her's by the looks of it, playing with a few old toys that she had been allowed.

'_She doesnt look too unhealthy...' _he decided. Her little sundress was a bit worn, but that was nothing to Hiei. So far, there was nothing worthy to cause this particular memory to be blocked. But, first looks can be decieving, so he decided to continue watching.

Finally, after about a half hour of watching her play with what she considered her best friends, Hiei heard Sera's mother calling for her. He followed as the 6-year-old went to her mother, to see why she was needed. Upon arriving in the room, Hiei was overcome with the disgusting smell of semen. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he focused his attention back onto Sera, now standing in front of a large king-sized bed. On it was, totally nude, Sera's mother and a man Hiei didnt recognize.

**"Ah, there you are sweetie. I was telling this man here about you, and how you are such a good girl."** Surprised at her mother's unexpected praise, Sera smiled genuinely at both of them. Hiei concluded from what her mother said, that this man was not Sera's father.

**"Why dont you come up onto the bed sweetie, and say hello to our guest."** Sera did as she was told, and climbed up onto the bed.

**"You're right, hun. She's absolutely adorable, just like a kitten,"** the stranger said, patting Sera on the head. Exposing himself, he tossed away the sheet, having previously used to it shield himself from view. Innocent little girl as she was, Sera didnt know that what was going on was bad or illegal. Enraged by this as he was, Hiei knew that he could do nothing, as this was all in the past. Pointing to his hardened manhood, he posed a question to Sera.

**"Kitten, do you know what this is?"** She didnt know, and thats what she told him. The man chuckled strangely and edged closer to Sera.

**"This is our new plaything, Kitten, and guess what? I'm going to show you how to use it."** Looking up at the man looming over her, Sera suddenly felt a bad feeling that something was terribly wrong about this whole situation. It was at this point that Hiei turned from the group on the bed, preparing his mind to leave the memory, having thought he'd seen enough, until,

**"No! I dont want to!" **Turning back around, Hiei saw as the stranger brought up a pocketknife from the midst of the sheets. Enraged at this, Hiei was not surprised that Sera's mother did not go to her only daughter's defence, but at what happened in the space of about a minute. The man released the blade and struck downwards, as if to catch Sera by the butt of the handle, but something astonishing happened then. Not only did she stop the butt from striking her, she pushed the man's arm back, forcing the knife back at himself. Caught off guard by Sera's fierce reaction, the stranger didnt have a chance to stop the blade from sinking deep into the base of his throat. Shrieking with horror and rage, Sera's mother pushed her daughter off the bed and into the floor in her attempt to get to the man. Mortified at what she'd just done, Sera sat on the floor, paralyzed with fear. After a few moments, the man died, strangled by his own knife and blood that filled his esophagus.

_'So thats what she's hidden from herself...' _And for the first time in who knows how long, Hiei felt sorry for another person. Watching as Sera was chased out of her mother's room, Hiei allowed himself to be cut off from the rest of the memory, leaving Sera's subconscience completely.

Feeling the gravity take ahold of him again now that he was in his physical body again, he stood up, stretching his limbs, keeping his gaze adverted down as he did. Sera was still asleep. Gently and carefully, he lifted her from the hard floor and held her in his arms. Backing into his room, he layed Sera on his bed, pulling his blanket over her sleeping, still body. Settling himself on the sill of his window, he gazed outside, letting his mind wander in an attempt to go back to sleep. But after the past he just witnessed, there would be no rest for Hiei that night.


	14. Group Meeting

Her subconscious having been invaded and pried into, Sera's mind was filled with the one who was responsible. Hiei. While he was there, she dreamed of him, he who she now shared a uniqueness with. When she awoke, she couldnt exactly recall what exactly Hiei had done in her dreams, but no matter. By the time she was out of bed and dressed the next afternoon, any dreams she had and entertained in her mind vanished from her thoughts. Putting on the cream clothes from yesterday, she began thinking aloud.

"I'm starting a new life, in a new place, with new people. ...Wonderful...not." Pulling on the matching shoes, she stood up and looked in the mirror. The black cloth was still tied around her head, covering the Jagan, as instructed. Running her finger over where she knew the eye was, she was surprised that she already had feeling around it. Then she noticed her unruly hair. Grabbing a brush, she ran it through her hair until all the tangles from sleeping were gone.

"...I wonder why my hair changed like it did?" She wondered briefly if she would be able to flatted the black halo of a starburst down before she tried, surprised when it lay down like normal hair. Turning her head, it looked as if she'd dyed an itricate halo in her hair. She kind of liked it.

"Typical of a female, standing in front of a mirror first thing." Turning around quickly, in shock and surprise, fists raised, she was prepared to sock anyone without a good excuse for intruding. But it was only Hiei.

"Havent you ever heard of knocking? I might not have had any clothes on!" Fuming, her face flushed, she waited for Hiei's reply. She wanted him to be embarassed or sorry for his intrusion, but his face was void of any and all emotion.

"Hn. Koenma's waiting for us all in his office. Come." Hiei didnt even wait for an answer before turning and leaving. It was either follow him or get lost on the way, she decided, following. 'I dont have to go,' she mused to herself. '_I could just turn around and go back to my room, or do something else_.'

"No you wont, you're going to this meeting, whether you like it or not." Oops. She'd forgotten, again, that Hiei could read minds. Then she heard him say something else. '_If I have to go, so do you. No skipping for either of us...' _Sera raised an eyebrow at this.

"What'd you say, Hiei?"

"I didnt say anything. Keep up, we're almost there." She was quiet after that. _'Odd, I could have sworn he said something, rude little--_'

"Sera!!" It was Botan, looking as happy and bubbly as ever. She was happier than usual, it seemed to Sera, but she didnt say anything about it to her. Might she be excited about the meeting? Pushing her suspicions away, she allowed herself to be ushered into a chair. A few seconds after she sat down, Hiei walked over and stood beside her chair. She looked at him questioningly, but he didnt look at her, nor did he say anything.

"Hey, look, its the yin and yang!" Cue Yusuke and Kuwabara. Rolling her eyes, she didnt aknowledge them in any way, instead she kept her face forward, as did Hiei, waiting for Koenma. Kurama was last in, dressed in his school's uniform. Sera guessed he had just gotten out of school. Where she should have been. It was then that she wondered if anybody missed her at school. Then bitterly she dimissed the possibility. _'Who there would miss me, more or less notice I was gone_.'

"Good afternoon, you two. How're things here Sera?" Kurama was being polite, she told herself, and didnt harbor any real desire to talk to her or befriend her. Instead of replying, she merely nodded. He smiled in spite of her response, or lack thereof, and turned to Hiei, starting a hushed conversation over the possible topic of this meeting. Before Sera could really listen in, Koenma walked in, and despite herself, Sera held her breath, waiting.


	15. Another Procedure

Koenma cleared his throat, hushing anyone who was still talking.

"As you all know, Sera here has had the Jagen implantation and will become a member of the Urameshi team. After a few months of working out any problems and training, she will begin to accompany you on various missions to give her experience for what is to come later." Looking around, everybody had given him their undivided attention.

"Thank you, now all but Sera, Hiei, and Kurama may leave." After mutinous grumblings, the room was cleared of those who's names werent mentioned. Koenma sat silently for a few moments, thinking to himself, before he spoke again.

"Sera, if you would, please remove your headband." To Sera's apparent displeasure, all eyes were now on her, as she did what she was bid to do. The eye, shut of course, didnt look any weirder or different than a third eye should. Remarkably, the skin around it had headed completely.

_'Most likely do to the ammount of her energy released_.', concluded Kurama. _'It probably gave her a jump start on the healing process_.' Flushing at the stares, she crossed her arms, waiting to hear why she just gave everyone a reason to do so. Sensing her increasing discomfort, Hiei smirked inwardly, though he couldnt keep his top lip from curling in ill-humored amusement. Koenma, however, was obviously not in the mood for amusement.

"Now, open it." He had to be kidding, right? Despite what she thought, she at least attempted to open it. No luck.

"I cant. It wont open.", she said. It puzzled her though. She had feeling around the eye, but the eye itself was as if it wasnt there, numb. Koenma went silent once more, until he turned his chair, no longer facing the trio.

"Its just as I feared, then.", he muttered, more to himself than to either of the three. "You're a human, so no nerves have been developed to function the Eye. Hiei, I'm sure you remember that yours did, but because of your demon blood, coupled with other provided environments." Hiei nodded, confused as Sera was. What did that mean?

"So that would mean that Sera's not beyond surgery procedure yet, correct?",said Kurama, answering the silent question. Sera looked from Kurama to Koenma, then Hiei. Could they be serious? After the trauma of the first, she was required to undergo more?!

Hiei could sympathize with Sera, knowing now what was to come, as he had undergone the exact same ordeal. He lowered his gaze, waiting for Koenma to confirm his suspicions.

"Sera...as much as I hate to put you through more trouble, you're going to have to undergo one more surgery before this can be done with and your training can begin. You're going to have to have nerves developed for and connected to the Jagan, as well as directing a flow of your energy for the eye to feed upon. It may also be that you require a second type of implantation, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Will you agree?" He was asking her permission? Wasnt he a king or prince or something or another? He could force her should she disagree, but really, who was she do disagree?

'_Koenma's not that kind of ruler_.' Hiei broke in, aggravatedly. She tried to think a question to him, but whether he recieved and ignored or never got it, she didnt know.

'_Ive come this far into it,' _Sera thought. _'Might as well see it through to the end_.' She looked at Koenma, finally, who was waiting for her decision. Releif crossed his features when she nodded, but was almost immediately replaced with a troubled expression. There was much to prepare for.

"Kurama, again, I need you to be assistant to my new surgeon, and also to oversee. I dont want another accident like the last one happening again, we cant afford it.", Koenma instructed to a nodding Kurama. Immediately he left to go and do whatever the surgeon needed.

"Hiei, you will lead Sera to an infirmary room where anethsesia will be started. I want you to stay with her, keep her company, until she's asleep, and then I'll need you to transport her to the area where the procedure will be taking place." Like Kurama, Hiei nodded unquestioningly. Sera, despite being unnerved at the prospect of being under anesthesia, allowed herself to be led to the very room where it would be taking place.

'_Malfunctions happen and difficulties arise...life risking performances all for a third eye. For all its seeming importance.._.,' Sera thought, '_I hope I live to see this thing through to the end_.'


	16. Sleepy Warning

Back once again in the infirmary rooms, Sera looked at the various machinery that was assembled around the bed she was to be transported on. After, of course, she was well under anesthesia. Now, more than ever was she beginning to get nervous.

'_Well, who wouldnt?', _she thought to herself. Sera sat on the hard bed, the smell of overly-startched sheets making her nose wrinkle. A doctor, who had been waiting in the room adressed Hiei, ignoring Sera completely, even when she aimed a well-deserved glare his way.

"Mr. Jaganashi, sir.", the doctor said, bowing. Hiei didnt return the bow, but grunted in aknowledgement instead. Formalities out of the way, the doctor, by the name of E. Ishida, so said his nametag, Sera saw, wheeled over the portable tank of anesthesia. Laying down as telepathically instructed by Hiei, Ishida attatched the oxygen/anesthesia mask on Sera's face. His task done, the doctor left the room, leaving it just Hiei and Sera in the room. Until Sera was unconscious, Hiei was faced with the task of keeping her company, and most likely from scaring herself away from the procedure in itself.

"Hiei?", Sera asked softly. To his amazement, though he did not express it openly, he saw that the anesthesia was already kicking in. Was it supposed to take effect that quickly? He was no doctor and supposed that it depended ultimately on the person.

"Yes, onna, what is it?" As patiently as one could hope from Hiei, he sat and waited for her quickly deteriorating consciousness to register his response.

"Its dark...and cold...", she finally answered. He sighed. It was merely the effects of the anesthesia. None, apparently, had ever been used on her before, and so she was new to the effects. Despite it all, though, he went over to a storage closet and took out a blanket, spreading it over her. Barely conscious now, her face emotionless, as if in a gentle sleep, she spoke once more, calling Hiei's name again.

"What is it now, onna? I cant help it if you're cold, you already have a blanket." Her breathing shallow, Hiei had to lean in as she whispered,

"Hiei...I hurt..." Hurt? Where? How? She was under anesthesia, she wasnt supposed to be feeling anything. As her consciousness faded to nothing, Hiei felt something else leave the room. Spirit energy?

_'But I thought that she was unable to use her Jagan?', _he wondered. Maybe, though, it was her own spirit energy, nothing to do with the Eye. '_She did have quite a lot of it..', _he reasoned. If that was the case, then what did that mean? Or was it a babble from one who's conscious mind was deteriorating, meaning nothing? He wanted her to be awake so he could ask her, but little did Hiei know, that would be the last thing Sera would say for a long, long time.


	17. Caution and Difference

Making sure that the oxygen/anesthesia mask was securly attatched to Sera's face, and that she was breathing properly, Hiei picked up the tank and unlocked the wheels of the bed. Wheeling his and the bed's way out of the room, he proceded to make his way down the hallways, towards the room where the nerving process would be taking place. Normally, the room he was about to go to was off-limits, mainly because of all the sensitive equiptment being stored inside. Since the room was needed now, the un-needed equiptment had been moved to a more convenient location.

As he was wheeling the bed, Kurama happened along his path, forcing Hiei to pause in his mission. Kurama had been sent to look for Hiei and Sera, the surgeons being ready to start the surgery procedure.

"How about Sera, is she alright?" Hiei grunted, looking down at Sera's unconscious body.

"Hn...she's unconscious, yes, and ready for the procedure as well." Hiei started the bed along again, Kurama walking by his side, eyes calculating what he'd been told by Hiei. Already unconscious? Had they given her too much anesthesia, or whas she merely reacting quickly to the drug?

Hiei heard all of those thoughts running through Kurama's mind, but ignored them, having thought the same things earlier. Each lost in their own thoughts, they almost passed the room where they were supposed to be going into, until Koenma brought them back to reality, calling to them both.

"Hiei, Kurama! Where are you going?" Backing up, they corrected themselves, Kurama apologizing for their near mistake. Botan, much to each of their surprise, had come and sat in the room, apparently on Koenma's orders, for she was sitting beside him.

"Botan is here to assist in getting Sera into the tank, boys, so turn yourselves until she's finished." Kurama blushed lightly at the idea of it, but Hiei merely rolled his eyes, as both turned, nevertheless. Moments later Botan was finished, and they heard a slpish of water, Sera being slipped into the tank of fluid. Turning around, they looked at the tank, and Sera inside. She was now floating in a weak, lose fetal position and a thin, one-piece swimsuit was all that she wore.

'_And it fits her acceptionally well, too_.', Hiei noticed. He flushed at the shock of his own thoughts, but in the lighting, it went unnoticed. But however embarassed he might have been, he was right. Her body, curvacious as it was, was accentuated further thanks to the suit she was wearing. Strange though, none of the others seemed to notice the shape and curves of her beautiful body. Knowing that they didnt react the same way just embarassed him further. Feigning indifference to the situation, and no window available, he took a seat on the far side of the room, mentally reprimanding himself for ever thinking such thoughts about someone, and a human no less. Though however one could not blame Hiei. After all, being sexually attracted to someone was a feral, animalistic and basic instict that everyone needed satisfied, which he convinced himself was the only reason these thoughts kept invading his mind.

Kurama assisted with the doctor, making changes when asked to on the mechanical settings, while he flexed the mechanical arms stationed inside the tank. Making sure the arms were fuctioning properly, the doctor began attactching various wires and attatchments to Sera. Some, the thinner, would monitor her vital signs if they were to change in any way. Others were pumping saline water, antibiotics, and nanites into Sera. The nanites were to ensure that the nerves for the Eye would grow, the saline water was so that she wouldnt get dehydrated, and that she would be getting needed nutrients, and then the antibiotics were so that no infection was to come to her while she was being operated on.

It was all too strange for Hiei, watching a repeat of his past unfold before him. Wires were connected everywhere; the back of her head, her temples, forehead, chest, to her spinal cord (bottom to the base of her neck), and then the IVs on both wrists and through some veins and arteries on her neck. He almost thought that it was a bit excessive, but again, what did he know? He was not the doctor here, and besides. It might be the best thing, all the extra percautions that were being taken. They almost lost her once, and that was enough of a wakeup call for them not to let it happen again.

* * *

Finally, at 3am, all preparations were made, Kurama and the doctor left, in need of sleep for the next day. Hiei, however, decided to stay. Unconscious she may be, but alone he wouldnt let happen.

"You know...there is still one major difference between us, apart from the obvious. You were allowed to make this decision for yourself. You were able to choose whether or not you wanted this to happen. I wasnt...and that will forever separate us, no matter how similar..." He sat, watching Sera's unconscious form for a few minutes more before he finally let himself be lulled to sleep by the steady beat of her monitored heart.


	18. Distress

Hiei awoke blearily the next morning, forgetting where he was until he heard the heart monitor again. Standing up, he walked over to the tank where Sera was still floating in. Something, however, seemed odd. But he couldnt quite put his finger on it. Scouring her for any signs of trouble, he found none. All that was connected the night before was still connected. Looking at her charts, he found it. Her heart rate and her respiratory pace had increased overnight, by almost a third of what it was originally. Hiei didnt know if that was a call for alarm or not, but he was definitely not going to take any chances. But...He also didnt want to leave her alone, in case things worsened.

'_Kurama_!', he called telepathically to his friend, and as he did, Sera's heart and respiratory rate climbed again. Apparently, it had been steadily increasing through the night. Unmasking his Eye, he reached out mentally to Kurama, concentrating on his friend's thoughts.

'_What is it Hiei? Is there something wrong?_' The longer that he listened, the more apparent it became that there was indeed something very wrong.

'_Would I be talking this way if there wasnt?! Get Koenma and the doctor and get down here, now_.' Replacing the tie around his Eye, he turned back to Sera, who's face was tightly drawn.

"With...pain?" Then suddenly, it hit him.

**_"Hiei...I hurt..."_** It was just as she'd said, back in the infirmary room, when she was only beginning to fall under. Somehow, Sera had forseen this happening, and she'd tried to warn him. Though he wasnt accustomed to it, Hiei felt...guilty. Her consciousness had called out to him in a desperate last attempt for help. And he'd done nothing.

Shocked at his discovery, Hiei slumped into a nearby chair just as Koenma, Kurama, and the doctor rushed in. By that time, Sera's heart and respiratory rates had doubled from its original rate. Kurama and the doctor immediately began checking settings and readings, trying to find what went wrong so that they could right it. Koenma, though went to Hiei.

"Hiei, what happened?!" Panic was written all over the teenage looking ruler as his eyes searched Hiei's face for any facial emotion. As usual, there was none. When he didnt respond, he called his name again, finally getting his eyes.

"Nothing happened, Koenma. I woke up and her heart-rate had increased. When I contacted Kurama, it kept increasing, and by the look of those two's frantic movements, it still is." Koenma was shocked, and for two reasons. He was about to lose a life that he had been entrusted with, and for his own reasons no less. Also, however normal it may be in other situations, Hiei seemed indifferent; uncaring even, to the current situation. Koenma knew he would get nothing more at this point and went to the doctor.

"Doctor, can you tell me yet what's gone wrong?" Kurama kept working while the doctor, sweating, wiped his brow and turned to the ruler. As far as he could tell, the doctor couldnt find anything wrong, apart from the increasing respiratory and heart rates. There was, however, a silver lining to this squall; the nanites and the chemicals had been potent enough to develop the nerves, the nanites inside of her already working to connect them.

"That means, sir," Kurama interrupted, his back turned, "that its safe enough to remove her from the tank. However, all of these wires and monitors must be removed beforehand. We dont know how long it will take, or how much her vitals will speed up in that time. But its inevitable, we must remove her, take her off the anesthesia and start a respirator for her. I just hope we dont lose her before that.."


	19. Lily of the Valley

Kurama and the doctor proceeded to remove all the attatchments from her body, doing so as quickly as they could without damaging her further. Upon removing the several pads that monitored her heartrate, the machine flatlined, causing Konema and Hiei's head to turn so jerkily, that they might have given themselves whiplash, were it possible.

"Dont be alarmed just yet.", Kurama said, still working with the doctor, pulling her body from the liquid. "It was just that we disconnected her from the monitor." Even so, Hiei was still unwilling to relax as he walked over to the table, gazing helplessly at her. Helplessness; that was a feeling Hiei despised feeling.

As quickly as they could, Kurama and the doctor re-attached all the monitors and respirators and nanite and antibitotic IVs, only to find that her heart and respiratory rates were beginning to level out once more. This confused everyone, even the doctor.

"But she's still in pain, it cant be righting itself that easily.", Hiei pointed argumentatively. And he was right. Though her vitals were near to normal now, her face was still pulled tight in what they could only guess was agonizing pain. If it wasnt the anesthesia at this point keeping her unconscious, then it was the pain. At a loss for what to do, they were forced to stand there, watching the monitor for any distress signs. The doctor believed them to be out of the woods, for her vital signs were now at a normal rate; however, Kurama knew better than to assume such things, especially here in the Makai. Kurama, as he tended to be, was indeed right; no sooner than her heart rate return to normal, than it had began to fall. Her breathing, also, had begun to become slow and labored. It was also noticed, that a firey red rash was beginning to appear on areas of her skin, close to her chest. Somewhere back in his being, Yoko Kurama recognized the symptoms immediately, reverting to that form just as quickly.

"Lily-of-the-Valley..."


	20. The Demon Fox and The Cure

All heads turned at Yoko's sudden epiphany.

"Lily-of-the-Valley?", asked Hiei. "What the hell is that?" Yoko, however was already on the other side of the room, sifting through a cabinet labeled 'anitidotes', his silver tail lashing back and forth in agitation.

"Something that's going to kill your friend if we dont hurry. Where do you keep the Digoxin Immune Fab, I cant find it in here, and its vital for her survival." Noone, however had ever heard of such a thing. Growling in frustration, ears lowered, he glared at the doctor.

"Well then I suggest you find it before I decide you're not such a necessity." Yelping as he was tossed across the room, the doctor scrambled to a phone, making as many calls as he could for an antidote called Digoxin Immune Fab.

"Yoko!", Hiei yelled, grabbing the silver fox by his shoulders. "Calm down and tell us what's going on! Whats Lily-of-the-Valley?" Taking a deep breath, Yoko filled them in on the situation.

"Lily-of-the-Valley is a flower thats common in the States (US), but isnt particularly common here. It's normally a medicine, but an overdose can be fatal, which is the case here." All was quiet. Finally, Koenma spoke up.

"How much time do we have?" Now that was a loaded question. "Well...first off, when did she start showing symptoms?" None of them knew.

"It was sometime overnight when she started." Hiei said. "Because there was nothing wrong with her before I fell asleep, and I was there since she had been put into the tank." Yoko looked thoughtful.

"Well...symptoms start as soon as five hours and...", Yoko trailed off, doing some calculations in his head. "I'd say that we have as little as little as 3 hours to import the antidote, or we could lose her."


	21. Admiration and Heated Degrees

Kurama paced the room, having reverted back only moments ago, the terrified doctor having fled the room, gone to call and search the internet for traces of an available antidote. Running his fingers through his rose-red hair, Kurama searched himself; why? Why, when such a thing hadnt happened since the Dark Tournament, did the demon fox exert his souls control over the human body? Why did the ruthless demon care so much for a life he didnt know to threaten another? Feeling eyes upon him, Kurama turned to Hiei. His vertically-challenged friend had been watching him since the outburst.

_Why the outburst, Fox?_, the short demon asked him. _Its not often you work yourself up over anything, more or less a human like Sera_. Hiei had a point. It was extremely unlike Kurama to make such a scene, especially with such ferocity.

"I admire her," he said finally. "Shes putting herself through so much pain for us, who barely even know anything about her." All heads turned from Kurama to their pacifier-wielding ruler as he added to the gratuity.

"Yes, quite well put Kurama. She didnt by any means have to do what we asked of her, and it was in no way forced of her. I think it would be appropriate to say that wed all feel horrible if we lost Sera after she pushed herself so far." Everyone nodded in agreement, save for Hiei. He held no reserve for the girl, but nor did he disagree with what Koenma said.

Glancing at Sera, he masked his surprise with stoicism as a wave of empathy for the dying girl washed over him. He knew that shed gone through hell, just as he had; her mother abused her and sold her body, as his mother abandoned him as a babe; undergoing a jagan transplant, she was dying, just as he had almost done in the same situation.

Without realizing even what he was about to do, he used a gently hand to brush damp hair away from Seras face. Recoiling his hand in quiet shock, he looked to the monitors; her face already felt as if it were on fire, even to the fire-demons touch. His blood ran cold for a moment, the hear in his chest skipping a beat. The monitor reflected an unnaturally high temperature, and unwilling to believe what his own hand had felt, he turned around, upturning a drawer to find a thermometer. The commotion gathered the others, each of them watching as the mercury skyrocketed before their eyes, searing past the 100 mark in a matter of seconds, finally coming to rest at a scalding 105.4. Six tenths of a degree more would be all it took for them to lose her forever.


	22. Twenty versus Two

Hiei glanced over at her respiratory machine, according to the machine, there was nothing wrong.

_What the hell's wrong with this machine, _he swore to himself. Looking for Kurama, he turned around, only to discover that the fox had gone.

"Kurama!", he bellowed, darting out the door, and tried again. _Fox, where are you?_ He could feel the fox's presence several rooms over, but what could he be doing. Locating the room, he rounded the corner into a room, glancing around. Kurama and the doctor were scouring several computers; each screen different, though all searching for the same item. Antidote.

"There, I've got one!" Kurama shouted, grabbing a few pages spat out by their printer. He then turned to the fire demon, eyes imploring. "Hiei, this is a map to the nearest hospital with enough antidote to save Sera. You don't have too much time, so hurry! I can feel her life-force fading, and I know you can too," the fox rushed, handing the papers over to the small demon. "Its not as much time as I had hoped. I give her 20 minutes, a half hour tops. And Hiei, the map says it's a 2 hour trip.


	23. Race against Time part 1

No sooner were the papers secured and Sera's sentence uttered, Kurama blinked and Hiei was gone. Sprinting out of the room, he saw Hiei was nowhere to be seen, no longer even on the mansion grounds.

_Good luck, Hiei,_ he wished, slipping back into Sera's room. _And 'God Speed'._

The mansion grounds already well behind him, Hiei ripped off the cloth that covered his Eye and tore off the cloak around his body, discarding it as he ran. Opening the jagan wide, he felt his energy levels rising, and he let it flow, picking up speed as he did. He didn't normally, but at the moment his body was changing, power washing over him in waves as his body morphed into its full potential; his body toned even more than it had been, darkening to a deep shade of green, purple-hued eyes positioned variously all over his body blinked into existence as he reached top speed. With these eyes open, even his sleeveless top was a hindrance, it being disposed of as well.

Thanks now to his demonic transformation, Hiei was able to travel faster than a normal person could think; before your mind had the chance to register that he went by, he was already gone again. And that was especially good, considering Hiei was a short, green demon, eyeballs all over his body, running around half naked. (I mean seriously! He could get arrested for running around with no clothes!)

Hiei checked the time on a small clock tower as he passed through a town. According to what time it was when he left and now, nearly three minutes had already elapsed. That fact made Hiei push himself harder' according to the map, Hiei wasn't yet halfway there.


	24. Race against Time part 2

He ignored the burning in his legs, his muscles cry out against this abuse. He ignored them, keeping only in mind his destination and purpose, because at the moment, nothing else mattered.

Another few moments and he came to a halt in front of an overwhelmingly expansive hospital; just perfect. Putting a stopper on his flow of strength, his skin paled back to the normal flesh tone as he watched the extra irises disappear behind lids and fade into his skin. Closing his jagan and deciding he was decent enough, he sprinted into the hospital and came up to the receptionist nurse on duty. She didn't look up as she pushed a stack of papers his way.

"Fill out this paperwork and have a seat. Someone will see you shortly." Silently, Hiei took the paperwork from the girl and sat it down on a nearby table. Looking back to the bored nurse, who was absently flipping through a magazine, he looked squarely at her, speaking in a tone low enough that only she and he could hear it.

"Listen to me, fool, and listen close, because I'm only going to say this once." His hard tone of voice caught her attention and when she looked up and at his face, she froze. His eyes were intensely focused, and blazed with anger. Hiei was a horribly scary person, and angry, the demon was absolutely terrifying. "I want the antidote to a poisonous plant, Lily-of-the-Valley, and I want it here, on this counter in no less than two minutes." _Consider yourself warned if it's not._ "Go. **Now**." Growling the last word, he shot a glare at the woman that could pierce the soul, sending her off to search.

All eyes in the waiting room were on Hiei, their stares curious and annoying. His being shirtless was one thing, but sending a noncompliant nurse away in a frantic rush was another. Not even a minute later, the nurse came dashing back, a doctor and two security guards in two; antidote included. Flitting forward, Hiei snatched the antidote and was gone, leaving four very confused workers and a room full of intensely curious onlookers behind. A backwards glance at a wall clock told him that 15 minutes had passed since he left the mansion. Helplessly Hiei realized that he had but four futile minutes to meet Kurama's 20 minute diagnosis and get the precious antidote back to the mansion.


	25. Death in Vain

Sera wasn't looking good, face pale, skin clammy. Kurama was doing the best he could, but the poison was progressed too far. He'd sent Hiei out for the antidote on hope; hope that she'd even benefit from the antidote when Hiei brought it in.

An immense contrast from before, he machines attached to Sera were beeping slowly, almost lazily, and getting slower by the second. Her pulse now, couldn't physically be detected, as it was much too weak. About five minutes after Kurama set Hiei off, her condition took this turn for the worst.

Absently, he patted Botan's shoulder, whose face was buried in her hand, crying silently into them. She looked up at the fox with tear-stained cheeks.

"Kurama…Even if Hiei gets back before…back in time…its not going to help her is it?", she whispered, voice cracking. "Even with the antidote, she's…she's going to die, isn't she?" Kurama looked over at Sera. Looking at her, he could barely tell that she was breathing, the slow, lethargic beeping of her heart monitor tell-tale sign. Unwillingly he nodded his head. Koenma bowed his in remorse; it seemed as if all were lost.

"Koenma, sir," Botan started. "Couldn't you make an appeal for her? Not to be brash, but her survival is vital. Your father knows that as well as you and I do. Surely he wouldn't say no..?" Koenma considered this for a moment before nodding his head slowly.

"Yes…Good idea Botan…!" He stood up with renewed hope for the girl. Striding with a purpose, which was more or less lost on his toddler form, he left the room to seek out his father, King Enma.

Letting the tyke past, Yusuke, skipping school, walked into the room.

"Boy, Koenma sure looked happy about something. The girl gonna pull through?" Dense as he was, Yusuke was still a bit concerned. He did after all know what it meant to risk your life for the benefit of the Makai; The Dark Tournament very well nearly took his life and that was something he'd never forget.

"No.", Kurama stated, watching the smile from the detectives face, replaced instead with confusion.

"Then…?"

"Koenma went to plea for Sera's soul.", Botan added helpfully. "King Enma knows how devastating it would be to lose her, so Koenma's confident his father will approve."

As if knowing she was the object of their conversation, Sera's eyelids fluttered open. Botan's eyes widened, shocked. Taking immediate notice to her reaction, Kurama whipped around. Before he could say anything, however, her cold, white lips parted, a soft murmur escaping along with her final breath; then she was still.

"What did she say?", demanded a voice from the doorway. It was Hiei.

_How long have you been standing there?_, Kurama asked; he'd not felt the other demon's presence arrive. However, his question went ignored. Hiei repeated himself as Botan hadn't yet responded, too chocked to see Hiei in the doorway after Sera's last word.

" 'Hiei'. She…Hiei, she said **your** name…"


	26. Jewls and Emotions

Quite uncharacteristically from Hiei's usual façade of indifference, he was shocked, and his face showed it.

"She…what? My name?", he nearly stuttered, unable to believe. _Of all things to waste a last breath on… _Yusuke, leaning against the wall on the far side of the room, had been uncharacteristic of his nature as well, quiet up till now, and spoke.

"You're the only 'Hiei' she knows. Pay a little respect and don't question her last moments." Death was a touchy subject for the detective, and having died once, he reacted negatively to anyone who would disrespect those who have passed on. Hiei aimed a severe glance his way, but Yusuke didn't blink; he knew where he stood on this matter. It was at this point that Botan stood up and headed out the door, her emotions getting the best of her.

"I-I…I'm sorry…", she chocked, leaving. Kurama offered a sympathetic smile as she passed, feeling sorry for the over-exuberant reaper; she got attached to people so quickly.

Kurama motioned for Yusuke, making a silent motion in Hiei's direction. The small demon may not admit it openly, but he too had attached himself to Sera, and so the fox and the detective deigned to give him some privacy.

Slowly, Hiei sat the antidote down on a table, sourly remembering Kurama's comment; the antidote wouldn't have done anything. He removed his hand from the bottle, barely noticing that Yusuke and Kurama had gone. There was a heavy air around him; he felt as if there were weights strapped to his body, holding him down.

_Why…? You….you were the only one…who ever knew…ever came close…to knowing what it was like…to be me…_ Numbly, he walked over to the heart monitor, still giving off a low, flat-lined one, and disconnected it from her lifeless body.

Looking down at her, he didn't know that Koenma was with his father, pleading her case; he had no way to know, and so was distraught over losing a possible empathizer.

_Did you want to escape so badly…?_ Staring his vision blurred, an unfamiliar stinging sensation taking over his senses. He growled for his weakness over this woman, angry at himself for being unable to conceal the emotion threatening to spill over his cheeks.

If there was one thing he had in common with his sister, aside from parentage, it was their unexplainable method of creating gems from their emotional tears. Yukina was quite the emotional girl, and so had many of the precious stones to give as gifts to her friends here under Koenma's employment. The lovely blue gems would sell for fortunes, and she gave Koenma the permission to sell them if ever he needed funding for their missions. Hiei also had this ability, though no-one knew. It was a secret among others he planned keeping secret.

Reaching up, he wiped his eyes, unwittingly aiding a single tear access to the open world. Sometime during its descent the tear crystallized, a beautiful onyx pearl landing softly on Sera's chest, resting delicately in a divot created by her collarbone.

Frowning at his emotional creation, he reached down to remove it, wiping away any potential to create more from existence. The moment he touched it there was a white spark between his and Sera's body, the pearl a middle contractor between the two. It stunned him momentarily, before he was able to clutch the pearl. Turning his hand, he opened it, staring at the pearl as it gave off a soft ethereal glow; silvery and warm.

Disregarding its unusual qualities, he held it between his thumb and forefinger ready to dispose of the emotional evidence. Then he stopped, shaking his head.

_Impossible…_, he told himself. _That almost sounded like…_He'd heard a voice, nearly inaudible, but there all the same, and it had sounded so much like Sera that it had made him stop. Despite what he told himself, it came again.

_Hiei…_

It **was** Sera?! Or really, as he realized with an eye-widening dawning, Sera's voice; in his mind. Staring at the gem in his hand more closely, he recognized the energy it gave off. Her soul had been bound in the gem in a bizarre fusion.


	27. Problems in Theory

Hiei stared at the gem resting in his palm. It felt warm, warmer than a gem should, though it did after all contain a human soul. Suddenly, Hiei realized that what he held in his hand was illegal. Doing so in the spirit world or no, trapping someone's soul in any sort of item was forbidden unless given direct permission from King Enma himself.

Clutching the gem he left the room, Sera's presence and energy washing over him; it felt like he had opened his jagan, but he knew better. Was this what it was like to have the use of a captured soul? Its power? Hiei reasoned that it must be so, or why else would it be illegal? Although shocked and still a little confused, Hiei was able to think rationally, and rationally, Koenma and Kurama were the ones to talk to. Pulling himself together as he walked, he managed to compose himself before walking purposefully into Koenma's office.

George, the world's friendliest blue ogre, jumped forward to greet the small fire demon, but Hiei blew right past him, not even sparing the unfortunate creature a passing glance. Instead, he pushed past another ogre and up to Konema's desk, despite George's futile attempts to stop him; Koenma had told him to let no-one in.

"Koenma!", Hiei growled, irritated, as George flinched at his loud voice. Koenma looked up, perturbed and angry that George had let someone through.

"What is it, Hiei? I'm in the middle of Sera's paperwork. Father approved of her case, and as soon as I finish, we can work on getting her back," he said haughtily. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy." Hiei stood there, stunned, as the toddler begrudgingly continued the stacks of paperwork laid about his desk. The thought slowly dawned on Hiei that he had cried, even if only a single tear, for a woman who wasn't lost. Dead, but not gone?

Hiei felt fooled, even used. And he didn't like it. Hands shaking with an uneasily contained rage, he spoke again, slowly, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Well…", he started coldly. "I do believe there's a slight problem with that particular theory…" Koenma looked up from his papers once more, gazing at Hiei as levelly as he could, and cocked an eyebrow.

"And what might that be, Hiei?", Koenma asked cautiously. Hiei was a ticking time bomb, and looked it.

"Someone must have forgotten to forward her the memo on that," the demon growled lowly, through clenched teeth. "Because the very moment I touched her skin, her soul bound itself to this." Koenma looked on in disbelief as Hiei brought up his fist and opened it, revealing the gem as it shining softly and steadily, emitting a soft, steady, glowing light.


	28. Secrets and Detainment

Koenma looked at the gem in Hiei's hand, eyes wide. Normally, something like this, even as weird as it was, wouldn't have phased the demon too badly, but this was slightly different. He had mourned, actually cried for another being, and dammit, when he cried for someone they had damn well be dead, and stay that way.

The toddler looked dumbfounded for another moment or two before he regained his senses and shut his gaping jaw.

"You…her soul's bound to that gem..? Hiei, _tell_ me that it was an accident.", the tot questioned. Hiei considered those questions for a moment, wanting to word them right.

"I did nothing, other than touch her. The stone fell on her and when I went to remove it, the bonding happened. It was completely unintentional." Hiei spoke calmly and smoothly, making sure he's understood. Koenma massaged his temples; he was being handed too much all at once.

"Hiei…only certain stones and gems have the capability of containing souls; they have to be astronomically charged with powerful energies. How in the world did one just…fall on her? And out of nowhere, Hiei…?" The fire demon bristled, knowing exactly what his boss was insinuating, yet he questioned the toddler's insinuations anyway.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? Do you think I did that on purpose?!" Hiei inhaled deeply, letting it out a little at a time, trying to control himself.

"Calm down, Hiei. I'm just trying to figure out where the gem came from. Those aren't legal to use, and there shouldn't be any in this building outside of the vault. That means that there's been a break-in that we're not aware of and that we need to have the guards search the building and do a vault sweep and have the stones counted." Koenma sighed. "We find who stole the gem, and we find out who bound Sera's soul to it. Until then….", he trailed off. Grabbing an intercom mike, he flipped a switch. "Kurama, Botan! To my office immediately!" Turning the mike off, he motioned to a chair. "Have a seat, Hiei." Hiei was reluctant, but did so anyway, holding Sera's soul-stone safely in his lightly made fist. Only then did Koenma continue.

"Hiei…you say that the gem 'fell on her', but what I don't understand is _where did it come from_? You say that you didn't do this on purpose, but also, you didn't say that it wasn't you who dropped the stone, just that it had been 'unintentional'." The tiny ruler continued to massage his temples, attempting to make some sense out of this mess. "Hiei, I'm not accusing you of anything, but I do have to ask: Is the stone yours?"

Hiei, who was still in a foul mood from finding out that Sera was never going to be lost, didn't answer. He knew that his own skin depended on him telling the truth, but the demon would rather take his chances at whatever Koenma threw at him, rather than admit that the stone was like his sister's; a gem created from an emotional tear.

"And there was no-one else in the room but you and the girl's body, correct?", the toddler pressed on. Hiei shook his head. There had been none but he and Sera. It was then that Kurama and Botan strode into the office, past the ogres, and up to Koenma's desk where Hiei sat, still clutching the gem that held Sera's soul to it.

Botan, face still red from mourning the death of the aforementioned, stood alongside Kurama, who spoke when the reaper didn't.

"You wanted to see us, Koenma?" The fox was confused. Seeing Hiei sat in a chair in front of Koenma's desk looking so sullen, and Koenma who looked more tired that anything, Kurama felt like a parent come to see his child called to the principal's office.

"I was afraid it was going to happen like this…", Koenma sighed. "But Kurama, I need you to escort Hiei down to the cells, where he is to be placed in one." Shocked, eyes widening, Kurama looked to his fiery friend, but Hiei didn't meet his glance. Instead, he was preoccupied with boring a hole through Koenma's head with one of his famous death glares.

"I'm sorry, Hiei, but until we know what's really going on, this is the only choice I have. You have to understand." But Hiei was far from understanding. He knew it was his fault that the girl's soul was bound to one of his tear-gems, but to place him in a cell, he felt, was more than what was called for. Koenma knew he wasn't going to get a reasonable reaction from Hiei, but he still thought he might try, to no use.

"The gem, then, Hiei." The fire demon bristled again. If looks could kill, Koenma would be dead where he sat. Standing, though refusing to speak, he handed over the stone. Clenching a tight fist after having done so, his hand shook with barely contained fury. Koenma, despite the warmth of the stone, shivered, the energy that the stone gave off more than he would have thought. Still, there was no time to be wasted, as there was much more that had to be done, now. Sighing, he put his face in a tiny palm, pointing to the office doors.

"Kurama, escort him." The fox nodded, walking Hiei out the office doors.

_Hiei, _Kurama started, bewildered at what just happened. _What was all of that? What's happened?_ Kurama waited for an answer as they walked, but none came. Despite his intense curiosity, he didn't press Hiei any farther for answers. If there was one thing he knew about Hiei, its was that any answers asked of him would come when he deigned to do so; and not before then.

Back in Koenma's office, Botan was just as confused as Kurama, if not more so.

"Koenma, sir..?"

"Not now, Botan…any explanations will have to wait. I need you to alert the vault guards of a possible break-in. Tell them to sweep the vault and count any and all manner of soul-stones they have stored inside. Have them compare what they count to what we have recorded. I want to know if anything's missing. After you've done that, I want you to alert all teams currently stationed on standby and have them do a sweep of the mansion and its grounds for any trespassers. Have them search the surrounding forestry as well, and have them bring in anyone who looks suspicious. And then I want you to go down to the prisoner's tower and have the guards do a head-count. Match face with name from their profiles. I want you to oversee the first and latter." Botan blinked, astounded at what she'd just been ordered.

"There's been a security breach?"

"I don't know. But if not, then things just got a lot more complicated."


	29. Silence under Pressure

The cell door open, Kurama watched as his friend was escorted inside by the prison guards. It had been quite a while since the fox had seen Hiei confined; the time right before Koenma offered the both of them their pardon deal, he suspected. The fire demon didn't say anything, merely sat on the cot provided in the cell and stared out the window. Since Hiei wasn't talking, Kurama was left to wonder just what reason Koenma had to place him back in the cells. Now that Hiei was secure and behind bars, Kurama was now escorted away, back to the main part of the building.

_I'll come back and see you this evening, Hiei. Don't run out._

After being escorted out, Kurama found his feet leading him straight back to Koenma's office. The initial shock of what happened wearing off, the red-headed demon was concerned, a determined air about him. His long-time friend was behind bars, and he couldn't let it go without knowing why. Pushing through the double doors, Kurama strode up to Koenma's desk, taking the seat where Hiei had been only moments ago. Koenma continued to stamp papers for a few more moments, the tension growing with every paper stamped. Sighing, Koenma put his stamp down.

"I suppose you're here for answers, Kurama, but I cant give them to you just yet. We barely know anything as it is. I'll explain to you what I do know, though." Kurama didn't say anything. Ankle propped up on one knee, he merely laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on his thighs, peering over the tops of his fingers. This wasn't the time to be rash about anything.

"The stone you saw earlier has Sera's soul bound to it, Hiei brought it in himself. You know as well as I do that soul-binding stones and gems of any sort are illegal in the Makai, Reikai, and Ningenkai; all three of the worlds. Hiei explained to me his side of what happened. He says that the stone fell on her and when he went to pick it up, bam; her soul's bound to this mysterious stone. He said no-one else was in the room but him and her. He didn't deny that it was his, only saying that it was unintentional.", the toddler explained.

"I'm not accusing Hiei for this crime, but he is our only suspect presently. I've had Botan order a search of the mansion and its surrounding grounds, a vault sweep and inventory check, and a role call in the prisons. The role call came back fine, as did the vault inspection. Unless there's some unknown aggressor on the grounds, Hiei is the only person who could have had possession of the soul-stone. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but Hiei isn't telling me everything. I put him in the cell to give him time to think. You and I both know this has been rough for everyone, including Hiei. I believe he just needs time to cool down and think with a level head."

Kurama knew that Koenma was right. It was the most logical thing to do, but no-one could tell Hiei that he had been put in "time-out" until he cooled down. The fox sighed, sitting up.

"This has turned far more complicated than it should have. We have a traitor who poisoned Sera, who's dead, who's soul is now illegally bound to a soul-stone, for which we have one of my team members in a cell because he's not telling us the whole story." Sitting back, Kurama began to think. "Koenma, have you found out what type of stone it is? If I'm not mistaken, aren't soul-stones generally and traditionally created from certain elements? Perhaps, if we find out what type it is, we'll gain an insight into this mess."

Koenma nodded. Kurama's logic never failed to make sense, and rarely should the fox's advice go unheeded.

"Thank you, Kurama, we'll look into that.", the toddler muttered, scribbling himself a note. "I'm sorry that you had to escort Hiei down, but this is a very serious matter, as you know. I made him aware of his responsibility over her, and with him being the only one in the room at the time, I hold him responsible, at least until we find out for sure what's going on." Kurama greatly disliked having to agree to his friend being celled, but, as was previously stated, it was for the best, at least for now.

It was then that Botan reappeared, making her way to the pair. She looked a bit out of breath, and it didn't look like she had any helpful news.

"Sir, the grounds sweep is finished. No-one suspicious was found in or around the mansion. According to the results that I've been given, nothing is out of place, and everyone's where they should be. Now can you tell me why in the world I've just done all of that?"

Kurama stood, offering the reaper his seat as Koenma relayed the same information that Kurama had only just finished sitting through.

"Oh, dear…that isn't good at all, is it…What are we going to..? Koenma, this is just awful! And Hiei won't talk at all? Kurama, can't you do something? Talk to him?" Kurama sighed; if only there were something.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, Botan. Hiei's quite the mysterious character. As long as I've known him, I don't know quite as much as everyone seems to think I do. Unfortunately, I agree with Koenma in his decision. Let him cool down. I trust he'll make the right decision."

Botan looked hesitant. She'd seen Hiei pull through for the team when no-one expected it of him, and yet…

"I understand…and I do hope things work out alright. That poor girl went through so much…"

Through all of this, Sera's soul, bound to the gem, was conscious, taking in everything that was happening.

_So much fuss and worry over what happens to me…or really, my body. What they've got in mind for this eye they keep talking about must really be important…why else would they trouble themselves so much for one person?_

Her stone tucked nicely in a cushioned box, she listened, disliking what she heard more and more, especially when Botan came in with her news, meaning that there was no-one left for Koenma to suspect but Hiei. Musing aloud, the tiny ruler openly wondered what could possibly make Hiei do something like this, especially when he knew how important it was to make as much progress as quickly and efficiently as possible. Considering Hiei was the only person besides Sera who knew the truth, and Hiei wasn't speaking, it was up to Sera to reach out and make contact. Someone had to know the truth about what really happened in that room when she died. She'd decided to contact Kurama, as he seemed the closest to the temperamental demon, but the only problem was…she didn't know how.


End file.
